Holst Centre OpenSME enhances focus on SME participation
At first sight, our open-innovation model seems tuned towards the needs of larger multinationals. It must be said that a time-frame of three to ten years before commercialization is often not in line with the shorter time to market of small and medium sized companies. However, once the technology gets to a more mature stage, the mutual benefit of including SMEs into a global research network can potentially be huge.
SMEs can bring essential application knowledge to the Holst Centre ecosystem and the SMEs can – in turn – benefit from the state of the art technology that becomes available at Holst Centre.
To facilitate the interactions between Holst Centre research groups and SMEs, we have set up a new initiative, called OpenSME. Aim is to speed up the process of finding suitable partners within the diverse SME eco-systems and setting up joint collaborations.
Already, Holst Centre built a track record of collaborating with SMEs. A participation agreement was signed with DevLab, a research platform initiated by 12 SMEs with unique expertise in wireless network protocols. NeoDec, a spin-off company from the TU/e, entered the Holst Centre partner network with its unique technology for low-temperature processing of conductive structures on flexible substrates. Other examples of past and running projects and partnerships with SMEs include: InnoPhysics, IntrisicID, Maastricht Instruments, iKnow, Singulus Mastering and Target Compiler Technologies.